Not just a teen star

charismatic

Brie Larson could have been another teenage actor who never graduated to adult roles. After an early start in forgettable sitcoms, like the 2001 Bob Saget series Raising Dad, she began a side career in bubble gum pop music. She also played a rebellious wild child on three seasons of Showtime’s United States of Tara and in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

But now, at 23, Larson has her first leading role. In Short Term 12, which won the grand jury prize at the South by Southwest Festival in March and opened in theatres this month, Larson plays a counsellor at a group facility for foster teens, who is battling her own childhood demons. Next up, she’s the scene-stealing sister of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his directorial debut, Don Jon, that opens in September. And she’s currently in theatres as a popular girl in The Spectacular Now.

As a child, Larson appeared in TV commercials, and at eight, she convinced her newly-divorced mother to move from Sacramento to Los Angeles. “Every time we were on our last dollar, when we didn’t have any money for next month’s rent, a job would happen out of the blue,” she said. “Magic.”

Over breakfast at a diner near her home in Studio City, California, a chatty Larson spoke about role models and staying out of trouble. 

How did you avoid the tabloid fate of many child actors?It’s really, really easy to not be part of any of it. I’ve never been to a Hollywood party (where) there’s been cocaine on the table. I’ve never even seen it. It’s not like I’m avoiding anything. It’s pretty obvious that’s not good, that (it) doesn’t help me in any way.
Did you have good role models for that as a kid?I did. I had a lot of good ones. And I also had some bad examples.
Who were the bad examples?I’m not going to say who the bad examples were, just that I watched a lot of people that at one point were great to work with and then later were not.
And the good ones?Toni Collette (on United States of Tara) was a huge one for me, and has continued to be a shining example, not just (as) a brilliant actress and comedian, but as someone who is very mysterious in her work and is not very public about her private life.
There are a lot of kids in your new movie. What did you teach them?There’s this idea that the actors are the most important thing in the movie, and that’s not true. Also, make sure you pay attention to the people around you. Your DP (director of photography) is your bro. That person is up in your face. Why wouldn’t you be kind to that person?
When did you realise that your career is going well enough that you don’t have to worry about rent anymore?I still don’t feel that way. My mom tried to have that conversation with me yesterday and I’m really working on it. Luckily, I don’t need a lot of things. Give me gas in my car, dog food and 40 dollars for the farmers’ market and I’m good.
Does she give you a lot of sage advice?All of my fruit trees that I had planted years ago finally fruited for the first time. My mom was like, “Brie, this is truly the fruits of your labour.” I was like, “That’s kind of embarrassing that you just said that, but I get what you mean.”